Celebrated truly indie-focused film festival will feature
77 Feature-length Narrative and Documentary films,
Pilots and Shorts making World,
North American, and US Premieres
Evan Oppenheimer’s PEAS AND CARROTS makes its World Premiere
as the Opening Night selection, and Christina Elioupolos’ HERE’S YIANNI!
is the Closing Night selection.
Peas and Carrots, Here’s Yianni!
New York, NY (November 15, 2024) – Dances With Films announced the film lineup for the 3rd New York City edition of the bicoastal film festival juggernaut. December 5-8 will be packed with an incredible number of feature-length narratives, documentaries, pilots, and shorts making their world, North American, and US premieres as DWF showcases those new works as part of the only indie film-focused film festival with a foothold in both Los Angeles and The Big Apple. Evan Oppenheimer’s Peas and Carrots makes its world premiere on Opening Night, and Christina Elioupolos’ Here’s Yianni! is the Closing Night selection.
Among DWF NYC’s lineup of 141 films, including 22 narrative and midnight features, 9 documentary features, 18 television and streaming pilots, and 92 short films (76 combined narrative and midnight, with 16 documentaries). More than half of this year’s DWF NYC presentation will be making their world, North American or US premieres during the ambitious four-day film event in December. All screenings will take place at Regal Union Square (850 Broadway).
In addition to Oppenheimer’s Peas and Carrots, additional feature length films making their world premieres are Liam Le Guillou’sA Cursed Man, Victoria Kupchinetsky’s Calico Rebellion, Jason Mendoza’s Good Friday, Bari King’s Itch!, Mikaela Shwer’s The Kids Are Not Alright, Dom Cutrupi’s Lola Dust, William Tyler Wiseman’s Moonwater, Paul Bickel’s One Happy Place, Jarrett Jung’s Sergeant Pickle Breath And The Rooftop Warriors, and Kristen Hansen’s Sonny Boy. Andrew Bell’s Bleeding, and Howard Goldberg’s Double Exposure will make their North American Premieres, and Nicola Rose’s Magnetosphere will make itsUS Premiere at DWF NYC.
Pilots for TV and streaming series making their world premieres, include Sergio Camacho’s United Crafts Of America, Victoria Myers’ A Legend Is Hatched: I Become Famous... In My Own Mind, Lucy Hirschfeld’s Dropped, Christine Lakin’s The Fun In Funny, Christopher Gerson and Julie Kramer’s Gasbag, Dan Jones’ Hive, Olivia Lambert’s Like Comment Subscribe, Serena Schuler’s Makeshift Society, Karl Janisse’s Passage, Ana Breton’s Rat Czar, and Ruthie Marantz’s Raging Doll.
Cited by Moviemaker Magazine as one of the 2024 “Coolest Film Festivals” in the world, Dances With Films’ rapid growth in New York City along with its current place as L.A.’s top film festival for platforming truly independent filmmaking, makes DWF the only film festival organization offering “discovery” titles in major film festival events in both of those cities. Showcasing brand new work by filmmakers on both coasts, most of which have yet to be seen or picked up for distribution has become a hallmark for Dances With Films’ Founders and Directors Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent.
Scallon and Trent said, “We take the responsibility of discovering these films and filmmakers
thus providing an opportunity for them to get distribution and representation furthering their careers. Just as New York City's energy and excitement has been a driving force for us, we embrace the absolute joy of seeing so much great work on the big screen for the very first time and helping our ever-growing family of filmmakers take their next steps toward realizing their dreams under the spotlight of this great city. We hope the audiences feel it the same way we do.”
Thursday, December 5 will feature the World Premiere Opening Night presentation of DWF alumni Evan Oppenheimer’s Peas and Carrots. Oppenheimer’s film The Auteur Theory screened at DWF in 1999 with a early appearance by Natasha Lyonne. Peas and Carrots follows a teenage girl in New York who is the child of a couple that were one-hit wonders in the 90s. She also travels in a bizarre alternate reality, where everybody only says three words: “Peas and Carrots”. Naturally, her family forms a new band and start rocking out together. The film stars Kirrilee Berger, Jordan Bridges, and Amy Carlson, and the local NYC-based production also includes the involvement of numerous legendary New York musicians. Members of the Ramones, Sonic Youth, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and Guster all contributed to this movie, both with new music in the score and (in some cases) with appearances on screen.
Closing Night on Sunday, December 8, will feature Christina Eliapolous’ Here’s Yianni!. The whimsical comedy drama stars Joe Cortese, as the title character, and Julia Ormond as a longtime couple who run a beachside family diner. Yianni develops dementia and slips into a parallel realm, believing he is the host of a late-night talk show with the diner’s staff and customers as guest stars. Meanwhile, his wife tries to hide his illness from their coworkers and best friends (Kevin Pollak and Rosanna Arquette). When a woman and her seven-year-old son move in across the street, Yianni becomes convinced that the young boy is the son they lost 30 years ago and after he escapes home and runs into the boy, Yianni must find a moment of clarity so he can navigate them both back to the diner and their worried families. The film also stars Eric Roberts and Sofia Vassileva.
Good Friday, Double Exposure, Magnetosphere
Additional narrative feature films making their world premieres are Jason Mendoza’s drama Good Friday, about poor street kids who find themselves himself at odds with loan sharks and the neighborhood’s street tyrant, after a botched house robbery. Dom Cutrupi’s Lola Dust focuses on an aspiring actress who finds herself the subject of a deep fake campaign featuring her image and thrusting her unwillingly into a threatening world hidden in plain sight. William Tyler Wiseman’s Moonwater follows the efforts of a man, battling his own alcoholism while trying to revive his late father’s old, dilapidated moonshine still deep in the woods for one final batch. The Midnight category is led by the world premiere of Bari King’s survival tale Itch! in which a horrific outbreak transforms its victims into self-destructive shells. A widower grappling with grief, takes refuge in a seemingly safe department store with his estranged young daughter, Olivia. However, their sanctuary quickly becomes a nightmarish trap, as the infection quickly closes in on them.
Making its North American premiere is Howard Goldberg’s Double Exposure. The film features the dramatic collision of the past and present, as a man, in a life and death struggle with himself, combats his guilt over what happened to his first love in a #MeToo tragedy. DWF alumni (Goodbye, Petrushka 2022) Nicola Rose returns with her second feature Magnetosphere, which will be making its US premiere. At the center of the film is a 13-year-old girl with a rare ability to see sound and hear color. Her attempts to keep it a secret are shaken up when her dad mounts a ramshackle theatre production which introduces her to a host of influential new people.
Itch!, Calico Rebellion
Documentaries making their world premieres at DWF NYC are Liam Le Guillou’s A Cursed Man in which the filmmaker’s exploration of the world of witchcraft and the occult, leads him to have a curse placed on him forcing him to question the nature of reality and belief. Victoria Kupchinetsky’s Calico Rebellion looks at a family of farmers in the Catskill Mountains whose ancestors staged the Anti-Rent War 200 years ago, changing the cause of American history, and paving way to the anti-slavery movement and to Abraham Lincoln’s new political party. Mikaela Shwer’s The Kids Are Not Alright looks at the abuse suffered at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers.
Dropped, The Fun in Funny
The television, web series pilots, and episodics also have a healthy number of world premieres. Those include Victoria Myers’ A Legend Is Hatched: I Become Famous... In My Own Mind about an unflappable gal-about-town and her madcap quest to get her own television show. Lucy Hirschfeld’s Dropped follows a struggling actor who gets dropped by his agent in the middle of teaching a master class to a group of children at his old Catholic Middle School. Christine Lakin’s The Fun In Funny focuses on a stand-up comedian inspired to take the mic one more time due to an unlikely friendship with a young girl. Christopher Gerson and Julie Kramer are the directors of Gasbag, a coming-of-age comedy series about a lovable recently-out overtalker discovering what (and who) he really wants… thanks to a new shakeup at work and his unexpected candidacy as President of his Condo association. Dan Jones’ Hive finds five strangers discovering they’re trapped inside a tacky, low-budget sitcom and watched by an unseen audience ever hungry for entertainment. Sabina Olivia Lambert’s Like Comment Subscribe features two BFFs and top influencers in Toronto faced with the challenge of helping a vegan leather bag company recover from a trans-exclusionary scandal.
Makeshift Society, Raging Doll, United Crafts of America
Additional pilots making their world premieres are Serena Schuler’s comedy series pilot Makeshift Society which is a female take on the tech industry via a young woman’s effort to build her own start up after being fired by her tech bro boss. Set in 1914, Karl Janisse’s Passage focuses on a ship’s stowaway who becomes entangled in a 100,000-year-old secret fueled by a mysterious entity infecting the minds of the ship’s crew. Ruthie Marantz’s Raging Doll is centered on a delusional millennial from The Bronx planning to get in the ring with a junior boxing champion. Ana Breton’s comedy Rat Czar follows New York's newly appointed director of rodent mitigation and her staff as they attempt to win an unwinnable war against both the Mayor of New York and the city’s growing rat population. Sergio Camacho’s United Crafts Of America debut episode also features New York City, but in a much more pleasurable angle as it provides an intimate look into America’s most vibrant craft beer cities, uncovering the country’s most innovative breweries and the passionate people behind them.
Dances With Films NYC once again will feature the world premieres of several short films. Narrative shorts debuting include Dustin Cook’s Artificial, Jack Campbell’s Baby, Jesse Cowell’s B!Tch I'm Early (B.I.E.), Fraser Clubb’s Blue Plaque, Tommy Heffernan’s Body Buddies, Timur Guseynov’s Brooklyn, Sara Newton’s Bullet Proof, Paula Blanco Pérez’s Canchas, Daniel Casey’s Charon, Dylan Levine’s The Clock Painter, Will Crouse’s The Coder, Grant Raun’s Composure, Misha Gankin’s Dead Pet Shark, Daniel Rocha’s El Secreto, Megan Robinson’s Have We Met?, Taylor Anthony Miller’s It’s Not You… It’s The Aliens!, Elizabeth Katz’s Role Play, Emily Coutts’ Rosebud, Juan Zuloaga Eslait’s Salve, Anima, Sofia Lane’s Sid The Kid, Andrew Lucido’s Sky, Hunter Woelfle’s Sweet & Crunchy, Emma Elizabeth Steiger’s Wait To Tell Mother, Shawn Dempewolff’s We Good?, and Nate Hapke’s Why Are You Like This?.
Hive, Watching Walter
Other notable narrative shorts are Felipe Vargas’ Hive, which stars Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Dancing with the Stars) as a teenager forced to confront an insidious entity hidden among a group of children including a girl she’s babysitting, and Mitch Yapko’s Watching Walter, which stars Stephen Tobolowsky portraying Holocaust survivor-turned watchmaker Wladyslaw "Walter" Wojnas.
Documentary shorts making their world premieres include Aisha X. Elliott, Cheryl Wilkins, Kathy Boudin, and Jake Ratner’s Degrees Of Freedom, Simantini Chakraborty, and Godfrey Reggio’s The Original Badass, and Justin Wheelon’s Tides Of Change. Midnight shorts making their big debut on the New York “stage” include Luke Paron’s Arachnid, Alan Arias’ Walter, and Vinnie Hogan’s Werewolf Scouts.
For more information about the Dances With Films NYC film lineup, events, passes, and tickets, go to: https://danceswithfilms.com/.
The 2024 Dances With Films NYC official selections:
OPENING NIGHT FEATURE
OPENING NIGHT FEATURE
Peas And Carrots
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 96 min.
DIRECTOR: Evan Oppenheimer
Joey Wethersby is a typical 16-year-old New York girl -- if your typical New Yorker had parents who were in a one-hit wonder band in the 90’s. And if your typical New Yorker found themselves travelling every night to a bizarre alternate reality, where everybody only says three words: “Peas and Carrots”. Joey finds herself navigating this weird new world, while also dealing with her changing family dynamic, after she suggests that she and her parents (and, to her chagrin, her siblings) form a new band and start rocking out together.
CLOSING NIGHT FEATURE
Here’s Yianni!
NEW YORK Premiere I USA, 2024, 101.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Christina Elioupolos
Yianni and Plousia (Joe Cortese and Julia Ormond) own a charming family diner by the beach, where Yianni is a convivial host. Lately, Plousia has noticed that her husband of 40 years is not quite himself and is often wistfully distracted. One day, Yianni slips into a parallel realm, a world of his fractured mind, imagining himself as the host of a late-night talk show. The show features beloved diner staff and customers as guest stars. Plousia learns that Yianni is facing dementia but hides his illness from coworkers and best friends (Kevin Pollak and Rosanna Arquette). As his condition worsens, Plousia becomes Yianni’s full-time caregiver and lifeline. When a woman and her seven-year-old son move in across the street, Yianni is convinced that the young boy is the son they lost 30 years ago. After a day of escaping home and running into the boy, Yianni, in a moment of clarity, navigates them to the diner, reuniting them with their worried families. Knowing he misses his customers, Plousia conceives a whimsical idea of building a mini diner on their front porch for Yianni in his final days. Yianni serves up toast and bottomless coffee to his cherished patrons, making the world happier for everyone he meets.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
A/Way
USA, 2024, 62 min.
DIRECTOR: Derek Shane Garcia
After suffering a profound loss, a travel journalist is sent on assignment to Martinique, sparking a candid reflection of her unsettled life.
Adventure Tom
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 110 min.
DIRECTOR: Miguel Duran
Tom, an unhappy artist, must fly to Minneapolis when he learns his mother has died. Lilly, an accountant, is on the same flight. Lilly has an incident on the plane and ends up on the no-fly list. Tom is driving home because he hates flying. They agree to go together. Once they’re on the road, Lilly convinces Tom to take a more scenic route. They discuss their lives on the road as they get to know each other. The two reflect on their journey when they reach the Grand Can yon, and the large unknown future ahead of them.
Boundary Waters
NEW YORK Premiere I USA, 2024, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Tessa Blake
In this lyrical coming-of-age film, 12-year-old Michael Murray relishes the carefree joys of early adolescence - girls and friends - until his mom has a black eye and a busted lip. Michael is desperate to know what happened, but his father Brian avoids him, Granny shushes him, and his usually resilient mother can’t get out of bed. While his family weighs the cost of keeping secrets against the price of telling the truth, Michael is determined to fix what happened as he tries to become a man in a world where men cause harm.
The Collaborator
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 124.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Travis Hodgkins
As war rages in Kashmir in the early 1990s, a young man from a nearby village is recruited by an Indian army officer to perform a grim task, to go into the conflict zone where militants have been killed and retrieve their weapons and ID cards. Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Mirza Waheed.
Double Exposure
NORTH AMERICAN Premiere I USA, 2024, 93 min.
DIRECTOR: Howard Goldberg
How does a bride compete with a beautiful influencer who comes back from the dead to steal her husband? The past and present mysteriously collide as a man, in a life and death struggle with himself, combats his guilt over what happened to his first love in a #MeToo tragedy.
The Ego Death Of Queen Cecilia
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 86 min.
DIRECTOR: Chris Beier
A washed-up YouTube star blackmails an old rival in an attempt to reclaim her fame. But when things go awry, she finds herself ensnared by a drug trafficking ring. As Cecilia spirals out of control, she's forced to confront her true place in society.
Good Friday
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 62 min.
DIRECTOR: Jason Mendoza
Niño, a pacified child of the street is recently diagnosed with leukemia and committed to turning a new leaf. After catching Niño trying to leave for Church in his old basketball sneakers, his mother begs him to buy a decent pair by Easter mass. After enlisting estranged childhood friend and corner store crook, Dee, to help him make the money by any means, the boys realize that they’re far from shoplifting grocery stores anymore when a botched house robbery puts them at the hands of loan sharks and infamous street tyrant, Big Brother.
Lola Dust
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 90.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Dom Cutrupi
After attending an audition, an aspiring actress finds herself the subject of a deep fake campaign targeting the British Minister for Immigration. In her quest to expose the truth behind the scandal and find the perpetrators, she loses agency over her personal image and becomes a victim of digital harassment, leading her to a world hidden in plain sight.
Magnetosphere
US Premiere I USA, 2024, 89.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Nicola Rose
It's 1997. Comet Hale-Bopp is passing Earth, and 13-year-old Maggie has a secret. She sees sound, hears colour, and her senses do other unusual things besides. Shy and cautious, Maggie keeps it all to herself. But when her family moves cross-country, Maggie’s world is shaken up. When she starts school and her dad mounts a ramshackle theatre production of "The Pirates of Penzance," everything changes. Maggie meets several important people: her first love, a true friend, an insightful teacher, and Gil, a loony exterminator with a formidable talent. Together, they'll lead Maggie to realize her differences have a name — synesthesia.
Moonwater
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 118 min.
DIRECTOR: William Tyler Wiseman
A reclusive alcoholic discovers his late father’s old, dilapidated moonshine still deep in the woods and sets out to revive it for one final batch, reconnecting with his brother and his father’s legacy in the process.
Our Happy Place
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 91 min.
DIRECTOR: Paul Bickel
Raya wakes in the forest, cold and confused, with no memory of how she got there. Each day, it happens again. By the third day, she wakes in a shallow grave. The graves deepen each time, as if an unseen force is burying her alive. Back in her cabin, she’s haunted by visions of tortured women whose screams echo in her mind. Night after night, her visions intensify, blurring the line between dream and reality. As the hauntings intensify, Raya must confront a horrifying truth that shatters everything she had believed.
Screams From The Tower
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 118 min.
DIRECTOR: Cory Wexler Grant
Screams From the Tower is a gay, coming-of-age comedy that follows Julien Rosdahl, his best friend Cary, and their outcast friends through high school in the 1990’s. The only thing Julien dreams of is having a show on the high school radio station, but his brand of comedy is very... weird.
Sergeant Pickle Breath And The Rooftop Warriors
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 78 min.
DIRECTOR: Jarrett Jung
A pot dealing man-baby is forced to find a new crib when his roommate/best friend threatens to destroy his teddy bear if he doesn't move out.
Sonny Boy
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 90 min.
DIRECTOR: Kristen Hansen
After a failed writing career, a Korean Italian American playwright returns home to reconcile with his dying father. Sonny Caso discovers life back home has changed. He tries to make peace with a broken dream before finding a second calling as a teacher. Still, his gift for teaching falls short of his father's expectations. Sonny tries to make amends before it’s too late but can’t find the approval he’s always wanted. When Sonny has finally forged his path, he makes an inexcusable mistake with a troubled student. Returning home is Sonny’s undoing and chance to discover who he can still become.
Step Back, Doors Closing
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Carter Ward
This is a charming love story between Ryan and Julisa, two young adults who long for authentic and emotionally intelligent relationships. After a chance encounter on the DC metro, they spend the next twenty-four hours discussing their hopes, dreams, and fears. Slowly but surely, they reveal more and more about themselves, and fall in love.
Year One
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2023, 93 min.
DIRECTOR: Lauren Loesberg
Ruby’s freshman year of college doesn’t go as planned. Despite her best efforts, she struggles to make friends other than her complicated roommate, Selene, and experiences both academic and social rejection. But Selene bears problems of her own when her severe anxiety and inability to care for herself seep into Ruby’s everyday life. Soon, Ruby finds herself in a downward spiral, marked by dreams and the appearance of her glamorous alter ego, Ruby II, who begins to live the life that Ruby thinks she is expected to have.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
A Cursed Man
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 98 min.
DIRECTOR: Liam Le Guillou
Documentary filmmaker Liam Le Guillou enters the world of witchcraft and the occult, searching for an answer to the question “is magic real?” Seeking out some of the world's most powerful dark magic practitioners, Le Guillou asks them to put a curse on him. The consequences of this dangerous request force him to question the nature of reality and belief in this never-before-seen, dark social experiment.
A Little Hope For Chicago
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 74 min.
DIRECTOR: Leon Lozano
Part narrative performance film, part documentary, A Little Hope for Chicago is a walk through the life of a Chicago hustler, narrowly avoiding the devastating consequences of death and incarceration, as he reflects on the systemic root causes of the violence and trauma that consume youth in urban centers like Chicago.
All American
NEW YORK Premiere I USA, 2024, 87 min.
DIRECTOR: Mark Andrew Altschul
All American is energetic and soulful and offers an in depth look into Women's Wrestling through the lens of immigrant and teenage girls. It is an inspiring, coming of age film about impassioned and unrelenting participants on a backdrop of physical sports action. Family expectations and gender roles are on display as our young women dream of earning a sense of belonging and acceptance in society.
Bastards Of Soul
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2023, 84 min.
DIRECTOR: Paul Levatino
Bastards of Soul highlights the remarkable journey of Chadwick Murray, an unexpected frontman who brought a magnetic energy to a Texas band on the verge of stardom. Chronicling the final days of the group, the film captures intimate, behind-the-scenes moments from recording sessions to powerful live performances, showcasing a band unified by talent and unbreakable camaraderie. Their story is a testament to the strength and resilience of musicians who pursue their passion against all odds. "The Trouble Is, You Think You Have Time."
Bulletproof: A Lesbian's Guide To Surviving The Plot
EAST COAST Premiere I CAN, 2024, 105 min.
DIRECTOR: Regan Latimer
Filmmaker Regan Latimer takes an immersive, funny, and personal look at queer representation on television and media’s power to shape how we see ourselves. Witty, fast-paced and laced with pop culture references, Regan journeys across North America and beyond in her quest to understand the forces that influence the stories we see on screen. Original animation and personal anecdotes are interwoven with wide ranging conversations with television insiders, LGBTQ+ community advocates and people who just love to watch TV. As Latimer navigates an ever-evolving media landscape, the filmmaker learns firsthand that representation done well has the power to transform.
Calico Rebellion
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 75 min.
DIRECTOR: Victoria Kupchinetsky
The Hubbell’s, a family of farmers in the Catskill Mountains Upstate New York, cherish a strange heirloom: a long calico robe and a spooky leather mask with tassels. 200 years ago, dressed in this mask and robe, the Hubbell’ ancestors descended from bucolic hills to stage the “Second American Revolution”, a fight for land rights and for justice. Their rebellion, called the Anti-Rent War, changed the cause of American history, paved way to the anti-slavery movement and to Abraham Lincoln’s new political party. Today, although largely forgotten, the historic rebellion is made tangible by the direct descendants of those rebellious farmers.
The Donn Of Tiki
NEW YORK Premiere I USA, 2024, 100 min.
DIRECTORS: Alex Lamb, Max Well
The Donn of Tiki delves into the unbelievable life story of Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, better known as Don the Beachcomber, the enigmatic creator of the Tiki bar. Through a creative use of animation, archival footage, and expert interview commentary, the documentary paints a vivid portrait of a man who had an outsized impact on the restaurant business, Hawaiian tourism, and the craft cocktail movement.
The Kids Are Not Alright
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 90 min.
DIRECTOR: Mikaela Shwer
What does it mean to be a survivor? Generations of children have been left with this question in the wake of abuse suffered at the hands of the Troubled Teen Industry, an unregulated network of for-profit institutions claiming to fix wayward teenagers. Decades later, they are fighting back. Filmed over the course of nine years, The Kids Are Not Alright is an intimate portrait of trauma following three families' journeys as they work to shed light on the devastating impacts of institutional abuse, pursue healing in the absence of justice, and fight to hold abusers accountable.
Spyral
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 83 min.
DIRECTOR: Bill Guttentag
A rising rock star documents his wife's harrowing descent into the shadows, and her battle with an undiagnosed mental illness. This compelling drama exposes the devastating toll of bipolar disorder on an American family, showcasing a deeply personal tragedy that universally resonates. Through a decade of home videos, diaries, and social media posts, double Oscar-winning director Bill Guttentag crafts a poignant narrative that captures the heartbreak and complexities of mental illness in America, revealing the hidden struggles that tear families apart.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES
Astral Plane Drifter
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 89 min.
DIRECTOR: Scott Slone
Sometime before yesterday... or after tomorrow... a man called The Drifter goes on an existential journey through a maze of outrageous scenarios with his trusted Sidekick, to save the day. The girl. The universe.
Bleeding
NORTH AMERICAN Premiere I USA, 2024, 97.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Andrew Bell
In a world where vampire blood is harvested as a drug, two desperate teenagers on the run from a vicious dealer break into an empty house and find a sleeping girl locked inside.
Itch!
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 82.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Bari Kang
In this gripping survival tale, a horrific outbreak called the Itch! transforms its victims into self-destructive shells. Jay, a widower grappling with grief, takes refuge in a seemingly safe department store with his estranged young daughter, Olivia. However, their sanctuary quickly becomes a nightmarish trap, revealing that danger lurks among them. As paranoia rises and the infection closes in, they must battle the outbreak and the darkness within themselves. With life-and-death decisions to make, they confront their fractured bond in a harrowing climax that challenges the true meaning of protection and love.
Straight On Till Morning
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 104 min.
DIRECTOR: Craig Ouellette
Two people cross paths with a twisted family with something much much darker in mind. A unique blend of romance and horror, filled with nail biting tension and highlighted with original songs sung by Dani, Straight On Till Morning weaves the beautiful and terrible things people do for love into an edge-of-your-seat journey into darkness.
PILOTS - TV & WEB
A Legend Is Hatched: I Become Famous... In My Own Mind
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2023, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Victoria Myers
An unflappable gal-about-town and her madcap quest to get her own television show. A Legend is Hatched: I Become Famous... in My Own Mind is designed to be the first in a series that follows the misadventures of our TV-Star-to-Be, and the oddballs she meets along the way, as she tries to fulfill her great ambitions. In this world, everyone just wants their time in the spotlight, a chance to be seen, and to make a friend.
Ada Episodes 1 & 3
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2023, 21 min.
DIRECTORS: Elizabeth Cox, Kirill Yeretsky
Should we eradicate mosquitoes? Create superintelligent AI? Create artificial wombs? These are some of the questions on Ada’s mind as she heads to the first day of her new job at the public library. She soon realizes her daily reality–mundane duties, grumpy boss–is completely at odds with the urgency she feels about the pressing problems facing humanity. Ada struggles to balance this reality with the future she imagines, where she explores her big ideas with anyone who will listen–her boss, her grandmother, or an unsuspecting visitor to the library.
Babyteeth
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Paul X Sanchez IV
Toni is an 11-year-old LatinX, transboy, who is afraid of the monster under their bed…which is very real…but it may not be the only monster in the house.
Dropped
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 16.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Lucy Hirschfeld
Dropped is a proof-of-concept comedic pilot that follows Andrew Wallace, a struggling actor who gets dropped by his agent in the middle of teaching a master class to a group of children at his old Catholic Middle School. Between his former best friend turned drama teacher Laura, a class of Gen Alpha kids who want nothing to do with him, and Bridgit, a 12-year-old actress who just booked Law and Order, Andrew must face his fears of failure and reconnect with his younger self who found joy in art outside of career success.
Eden For Two
USA, 2024, 22 min.
DIRECTOR: Colin Henning
NYC. 1989. After escaping Communist Hungary, two Hungarians find themselves with opposing views of starting over in America. István, afraid of leaving his culture and home behind, is clinging to his yet-to-arrive girlfriend, while József is ready to treat himself to the American experience. Caught in the middle is their neighbor, Maria Louise, whose life, and routine is joyfully upended by the arrival of two new friends.
Fortune
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 27.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Matthew Perkins
In this Southern Gothic tale of greed, a blue-collar timber yard worker miraculously wins a massive lottery jackpot.
The Fun In Funny
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 22.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Christine Lakin
A stand-up comedian hangs up his microphone until an unlikely friendship with a young girl inspires him to give the stage another shot.
Gasbag
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 24 min.
DIRECTOR: Christopher Gerson (part 1), Julie Kramer (part 2)
Gasbag is a coming-of-age comedy series about George Nordstrom, a lovable recently-out overtalker discovering what (and who) he really wants… at age 42. His overbearing mother, meddling neighbor, and dysfunctional coworkers at The Marcia Powell Travel Agency sure won't make it easy. But thanks to his can-do spirit, loving shoves from his brash cousin, Jean, and the liberating realization that he’s gay, George will learn to love silence. He may even learn to love himself.
Hive
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 48 min.
DIRECTOR: Dan Jones
Five strangers wake to find themselves trapped inside a tacky, low-budget sitcom. Watched by an unseen audience ever hungry for entertainment, the reluctant ‘stars’ must learn to play along with their eerie ‘supporting’ castmates or risk being killed off for cheap laughs. Can they work together to uncover the mysteries of their captivity to escape? Or will they be consumed by the bright lights of ‘stardom’ and their darkest impulses laid bare?
Le Parrot
USA, 2024, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Rachael Sonnenberg
Three siblings return home for their mother's funeral. Chaos ensues when they realize their mother has left behind her pet parrot.
Like Comment Subscribe - Ep 1 (Pilot)
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 8.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Sabina Olivia Lambert
BFF's Avery and Meaghan are two of Toronto’s hottest influencers. As the face of Vaag, her mom Sasha’s vegan leather bag company, Meaghan stars in a sexy commercial featuring their newest satchel. Despite their artistic marketing efforts, the campaign is being ripped apart online for being trans-exclusionary. To recover from the scandal, Avery offers to step in and design an apparel line as a “glittery olive branch” for the queer community. Despite the risk, Sasha accepts his pitch, and warns Meaghan that her recently plummeting online metrics are a threat to the company.
Loft And Found
USA, 2024, 30 min.
DIRECTORS: Pete O'Hare, Phillip Kibbe
Faced with rising rent and a final chance to live their dreams, five artists in their mid 30s run an event venue out of their sketchy Brooklyn warehouse loft. Navigating wild lifestyles, aging roommate drama, and the creep of modern anxiety, can they get their shit together? ...or at least make this month's rent?
Makeshift Society
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 23.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Serena Schuler
A female take on the tech industry, Makeshift Society is a comedy series about finding your misfit, makeshift family, and going after your dreams together. When suddenly fired by her tech bro boss, Alex discovers a converted warehouse of misfit founders fearlessly pursuing their dreams with their eccentric businesses. Inspired, she decides to embark on an adventure to go after her dream and build her own startup.
The Murder Network
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Christopher James Lang
A producer for a true crime docu-drama show, looking to prove herself, inadvertently uncovers a serial killer.
Nightfish
USA, 2024, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: Sophie Niesenbaum
Nightfish follows the unlikely friendship of two overnight aquarium employees: Sam, a depressed security guard with thwarted ambitions of being a marine biologist, and Piper, a joyfully unbalanced trash-lover who is living out her dream of being a night janitor. In episode one, a dangerous break-in forces the unwilling Sam and overeager Piper to join forces to solve the mystery.
Passage
WORLD Premiere I CAN, 2024, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Karl Janisse
It’s 1914, and the crew of the SS Talaria descends into a puzzling charade of madness after departing the docks of Cairo. Emilia Duprey, a lone stowaway stealing passage to America, now finds herself entangled in a 100,000-year-old secret fueled by a mysterious entity infecting the minds of those on board.
Pike
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2023, 15 min.
DIRECTOR: Alex Klaus
A talent agent becomes disillusioned with his vacuous world of celebrity, decides to embark on a serial killing spree of anyone he deems guilty of having zero talent starting with his own celebrity client list!
The Pinto Variety Hour
EAST COAST Premiere I USA, 2024, 23 min.
DIRECTOR: R.J. Sullivan
A misunderstood bean struggles to get the respect he wants as the host of a surreal variety show and the father of two teenagers.
Raging Doll
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 7.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Ruthie Marantz
A delusional millennial from The Bronx gets in the ring with a junior boxing champion known as The Smoke.
Rat Czar
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 12 min.
DIRECTOR: Ana Breton
Rat Czar is a comedy web series about New York's newly appointed director of rodent mitigation and her staff as they attempt to win an unwinnable war against both the Mayor of New York and the city’s growing rat population - which outnumbers them a million to one.
Running Erins
USA, 2024, 35 min.
DIRECTOR: Guillermo Ivan
Finally, Erin Fogel has everything pretty much where she wants it. She and her ex are successfully co-parenting their son. Her best friend just moved in. She's dating again. Her parents are healthy. And while she's still sad about closing her yoga studio, she has a fantastic community of moms at her son's school to sustain her. But then a new mom joins their group, and she clearly has an axe to grind with Erin. Suddenly, everything Erin has worked so hard to build is in jeopardy, and she's got to figure out how to hold on.
The Self-Love Act
USA, 2024, 20.5 min.
DIRECTOR: Kareema Bee
In this series hosted by Kareema Bee, a Black woman and artist explores her journey through self-love in dialogue with others, supported by The Big We Foundation. In this episode, Kareema finds out her African ancestry in an unexpected way, which catapults her into an exploration of her roots, only to find what she's been searching for may have been right in her backyard.
United Crafts Of America
WORLD Premiere I USA, 2024, 47 min.
DIRECTOR: Sergio Camacho
United Crafts of America offers an intimate look into America’s most vibrant craft beer cities, uncovering the country’s most innovative breweries and the passionate people behind them. The journey begins with New York City's own Interboro Spirits & Ales, where co-owners Laura Dierks and Jesse Ferguson blend beer and hip-hop to create one of NYC's most influential breweries, breathing new life into the city’s rich brewing heritage. For these brewers, craft beer is more than just a beverage—it’s a symbol of identity, community, and pride. From the rustic charm of small-town breweries to the urban sophistication of city brewpubs, this series shows how craft beer is the story of America.
World Twistories
EAST COAST Premiere I USA/UNITED KINGDOM, 2023, 22.5 min.
DIRECTORS: Brian Wallace, James Longley
World Twistories is an exciting new series that explores eccentric people and their offbeat ideas throughout history. Each topic explored is verifiably true, exhaustively researched, and presented by the effortlessly charming IG/Tik-Tok sensation Paul Longley. In this pilot episode, we look at a coffee shop that opened in London in 1703, but a coffee shop “with a twist“–in order to get their caffeine fix, patrons were required to speak Latin.
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